rococo

ro·co·co

(rə-kō′kō, rō′kə-kō′)

n. also Rococo

1.

a. A style of art, especially architecture and decorative art, that originated in France in the early 1700s and is marked by elaborate ornamentation, as with a profusion of scrolls, foliage, and animal forms.

b. A very ornate style of speech or writing.

2. Music A style of composition arising in the 1700s in France, often viewed as an extension of the baroque, and characterized by a high degree of ornamentation and lightness of expression.

rococo

(rəˈkəʊkəʊ)

n (often capital)

1. (Architecture) a style of architecture and decoration that originated in France in the early 18th century, characterized by elaborate but graceful, light, ornamentation, often containing asymmetrical motifs

2. (Classical Music) an 18th-century style of music characterized by petite prettiness, a decline in the use of counterpoint, and extreme use of ornamentation

rococo

rococo

1. A light and harmonic style of music that came to prominence in the early and mid eighteenth century in Europe, chiefly in France and Germany, following the baroque period. It is similar to baroque music in being characterized by ornamentation, but it is distinguished from baroque especially in featuring reduced use of counterpoint and less formality and complexity.

2. A style of French asymmetrical furniture, originating in the eighteenth century, emphasizing the S-shaped curve and comfort in reaction to baroque formality. It was characterized by improved plush upholstery, chinoiserie, bright colors, swirling carving, and extravagant marquetry. The style was widely exported and represents the zenith of restless frivolity of Louis XV furniture.

When the visitor has mounted the crumbling steps of this ancient donjon, he reaches a little plateau where, in the seventeenth century, Georges Philibert de Sequigny, Lord of the Glandier, Maisons-Neuves and other places, built the existing town in an abominably rococo style of architecture.

This latter feature of the apartment was of white marble, and in the familiar rococo style of the last century; but above it was a paneling of an earlier date, quaintly carved, painted white, and gilded here and there.

The stunning Rococo style ceiling and wall trimmings that still remain served as a grand accompaniment to many celebrated performances by artists such as Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Bing Crosby, Buddy Holly, and Chuck Berry.

Items of quality will always bring collectors to auctions who pay high prices for the right lots, as with this unusually large and impressive set of four late Victorian silver table candlesticks of rococo style with scrolling foliate and floral baluster stems on similar shaped circular bases.

A leading exponent of the Rococo style, his most exuberant pieces are today seen only in museums, which is where this piece has come from: until recently, it has been the centrepiece of a British silver exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

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